mindestevsmindestensConfusable pair

Quick tell: mindeste is a adjective, mindestens is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mindeste” is an adjective and “mindestens” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,439
“mindeste” frequency rank
#754
“mindestens” frequency rank
25193
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mindeste mindestens
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs minder genau so viel (wie angegeben), oder mehr (von Elementen desselben Typs)

Where the eye mixes mindeste and mindestens

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
mindeste
10 ch
mindestens

Look-alike desk: mindeste vs mindestens

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mindeste is [ˈmɪndəstə] while mindestens is [ˈmɪndəstn̩s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “mindeste” sits inside “mindestens”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25193, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mindeste is recorded at frequency rank #24,439, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmɪndəstə]. mindestens is at rank #754, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈmɪndəstn̩s].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 25193, this pair ranks #1,836,812 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mindeste vs mindestens

Shared letters: deimnst. Private to "mindeste": -. Private to "mindestens": -.

"mindeste" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "mindestens" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mindesteimndeste · midneste · minddeste · mindeset · mindesste · mindestte · mindetse · mindsete
  • mindestensimndestens · midnestens · minddestens · mindesetns · mindesstens · mindestenns · mindestenss · mindestesn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mindeste" for "mindestens" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mindeste" is an adjective and "mindestens" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "mindeste" vs "mindestens" - which ranks higher?
"mindestens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #754 in our German list, against #24,439 for "mindeste". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "mindeste" and "mindestens" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mindeste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mindestens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,836,812 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mindeste" and "mindestens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mindeste vs mindesten". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,836,812 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list